David Boreanaz caught cheating -- could wife Jaime Bergman sue the other woman? In Utah, she has the right

AP file photoJaime Bergman could sue husband David Boreanaz's mistress under Utah law -- but would she want to?"Bones" star David Boreanaz announced today in People magazine that cheated on his wife, former Playboy Playmate Jaime Bergman, after a former mistress tried to blackmail him.

That makes Boreanaz one more in the long line of celebrity cheaters fessing up over the past year (David Letterman, Tiger Woods and Jesse James, just to name some of the most high-profile ones).

But what makes this case a little different from all the others is the fact that, if she wants to, Bergman could sue Boreanaz's mistress.

In addition to Utah, this type of lawsuit is allowed in Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Dakota.

As a recent UPI article about a North Carolina case points out, the "alienation of affection" law is leftover from a time when women were considered property. If a man was caught with another man's wife, he could be accused of stealing his property.

(1)
the marriage entailed love between the spouses in some degree; (2) the
spousal love was alienated and destroyed; and (3) defendant’s malicious
conduct contributed to or caused the loss of affection.

Interestingly, you do not have to prove extramarital sex to file a lawsuit.

Boreanaz and Bergman have an 8-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter together, so more is at stake than just their marriage.

What do you think -- would a lawsuit bring Boreanaz's mistress what she deserves, or would it just make Bergman look petty?